An explosion rocked the streets around her; the force of the blast threw her from her feet. A ringing in her ear made it impossible to know what was happening. Something went horribly wrong but she had no idea what it was.
She turned her head slightly and through the smoke she saw figures moving, impossible figures like gargoyles and other monsters attacking the NERV task force that was sent here. She tried to sit up only to find a foot push down her chest. Her hearing began to improve with the ringing finally wearing off only to hear the desperate screams of the soldiers as they were torn to pieces by monsters and men who had long forgotten what it was like to be civilized.
Her weapon was kicked away and she heard a voice whispering. "There is something special about this one."
She tried to mouth words, tried to demand they get off of her but in her condition she could not do so.
"Take her to Decius," another man said somewhere off to her left. "She might be precisely what we need."
Her head was twisted hard to the left but not enough to break it. She felt a needle being shoved into her carotid artery…
With a scream Asuka awoke. Her sheets were soaking wet around her as if she had been bathing in her own sweat. Feeling the pain draining from what she experienced in the nightmare she began to cry. Her eyes were tight shut as she felt Shinji sit next to her and place his arms around her protectively. She turned towards him, still kneeling on the bed and continued to bawl unabashed.
"It's okay, Asuka," his calm voice whispered. "You're okay… it was just another nightmare…" His touch was soothing as he began to rub her back gently in a circular motion.
But deep within her heart, Asuka knew this was no mere nightmare…
… It was a memory…
II: Nightmares
Much of the land North of Kyoto was once suburban sprawl, but the majority of it was wiped out by Tsunamis during the Second Impact. Despite that the wilderness grew here unabashed. Underground streams took hold allowing life to flourish here despite what had happened. Somehow, huge trees and a thick forest overtook the landscape north of the city after the event had managed to sort itself out. It was here, nestled in the middle of what felt like nowhere at all, that Shinji had his safe house built.
Asuka was impressed. He had managed to harness the underground streams to produce electricity for the place despite its remoteness, and even had enough to power electric pumps to allow indoor plumbing without the need for city infrastructure. She knew NERV must have helped in its creation, since much of the technology needed for this kind of set up was beyond even her own knowledge.
Sitting on the front porch, she looked out over the forest for the amount of space she could see before the trees became so thick. She was currently wrapped not only in warm clothes but in a comforter as well. Shinji took his place next to her handing her a hot mug of his soothing tea and she took it graciously.
"No one really knows why this forest grew so fast," Shinji noted, as if sensing her wonder at it all. "Some say it was just the right mix of circumstances, but others seem to think it has a much more supernatural reason."
"I am inclined to believe the later," Asuka admitted as she continued to take it all in. "It would be impossible for this much growth to happen if the land were swept clean of everything a mere 16 years ago."
Shinji nodded. "So how are you holding up?"
Asuka knew exactly what he meant by that, he was still worried about her reaction last night.
It has been two days since they arrived here the safe house, and Asuka has not been able to get solid sleep due to the nightmares that keep plaguing her. The first night was similar to the dream she had last night but this time more was revealed to her. She was still convinced they were memories and not constructs of a horrified mind.
"Not well," she admitted. "The nightmares are getting worse. This last night I think I might have experienced what happened during the raid."
Shinji remained silent for a moment before inevitably asking, "Anything pertinent?"
"I was apparently found by luck," Asuka noted. "There seemed to be some confusion over my appearance, but they did mention someone named… Decius."
"I thought as much," Shinji replied. "One of the men you killed two nights ago mentioned that man. I've had Maya look into the name but whoever he is, that's either not his real name, or he's damned ghost."
Asuka took a sip of her tea. "Perhaps both," she mused. "I had the impression by what has happened so far that this cult, whatever it is called, is both well-funded and well-established. That would indicate it is also old… perhaps quite old."
"That doesn't bode well for us does it?"
Asuka took another sip of her tea but didn't bother replying; they both already knew what the answer was.
"Based on that I think I might be able to explain some things," Shinji continued. "I happen to know a bit about cult groups in Tokyo-2."
Asuka looked towards him. "The uniforms of the cultists that attacked us… they look familiar?"
"Based on what I've been able to piece together, and their appearance, I believe these cultists might be part of a group called 'The Sons of Shaft'."
"Sounds ominous," Asuka deadpanned. "What is their motive?"
"Well, based on what I've been able to gather from previous cases involving them, they seek to revive the Prince of Darkness."
"Awaken the Devil? It that all?" Asuka replied sardonically.
"No, not Lucifer... The so-called 'Prince of Darkness' actually refers to another mythical figure of supernatural lore, thought to be the true father of all evil and darkness; Count Vlad Tepes Dracul."
"Dracul… you mean Dracula?" Asuka almost sounded amused. "Are you serious?"
"It is no joke, Asuka!" Shinji replied a bit stronger than she expected him to, causing her mirth to fade instantly. "Dracula is very real. According to the writings of the Belmont Clan from Eastern Europe, Dracula represented ALL evil in the world and possessed the power to rule the night. His appearance brought death and destruction to all corners of the Earth, and not just a small corner of Europe where only Romanians and Turks were involved as history would suggest. Dracula is the Lord of Darkness, the King of the Night, and his coming is always marked by a sharp increase of chaos and destruction across the globe."
Asuka was shocked at all of this; Shinji wasn't joking at all, and firmly believed all of this happened. Was there really truth to it?
"The writings further explain how every 100 years, he would somehow return to plague mankind again. It wasn't until the year 1999, just before Second Impact that he was defeated by the last descendant of the Belmont Clan, Julius Belmont, once and for all. He sacrificed his life to seal away the power of Dracula and end his reign for all time. Unfortunately there are many now that believe that part of his legacy managed to escape this fate, giving the dark lord another way to revive. As a result, the cult has been working tirelessly to undo what was done and to release the true power of Dracula again."
Asuka looked at her tea as she heard the sound of a rumble in the distance; it sounded like thunder. "This is nuts. I cannot believe this is all true! And I do not like the implications of it."
"I know nothing of the ritual they are using, but I know they've been looking for candidates for sacrifice. You were referred to as 'the Sacrifice' and it's obvious now that I was also chosen to be sacrificed for whatever reason. You somehow managed to escape that fate though, but not just escape it, draw power from it."
"I still do not understand how it works exactly," Asuka mused.
"Either way, it may be a clue in dissecting what they are trying to do."
"I do not care," Asuka decided aloud. And why should she? After all, weren't they safe here? The cult couldn't touch them now, and there was no way they could finish what they started so long as she didn't get captured by them again. They had too much invested in her. "It does not matter now. So long as I remain away from them, they cannot finish what they started."
Shinji nodded. "True enough. It really isn't our problem anymore. Maya is aware of it, so NERV will deal with the problem. We just have to keep you out of their hands."
Asuka sighed. As quiet and peaceful as it was out here, incoming thunderstorm not-withstanding, she knew she was going to get bored here pretty fast.
Another night, another nightmare… This one wasn't as bad, and didn't draw Shinji to her again. She managed to get enough sleep to awaken feeling at least partly refreshed. She noted that Shinji was sleeping in and wasn't awake just yet. It was the perfect time to wander about without him fretting over her.
Asuka dressed in comfortable jeans and a long sleeve shirt, and then left the house to explore the forest around. She felt a little guilty about doing this, since when Shinji woke up, he probably will have a minor heart attack at her disappearance, but getting away for a bit to clear her head seemed like a good idea.
"So who am I really?" Asuka whispered as she walked through the woods. Shinji mentioned she was a pilot like him but a pilot of what? As far as she knew, she had no skills in piloting aircraft. She tried to think back to that time and was greeted only with emotions… pain, violation, and a sense of loss. Retreating quickly from that part of her mind, she realized she was not ready for such thoughts yet.
Her new reality would take some getting used to, but this power she had to seemingly pull weapons out of nothing at all… she knew it was due to the glyphs on her back, but what did they really mean. What was the point of it? The cult gave her power but why? Was she brainwashed into joining them? That seemed counter-intuitive since they specifically called her 'The Sacrifice'. Of course the thought also occurred to her that her powers were somehow a side effect of what happened to her, and thusly an unintended result. Could magic truly be so tricky a thing?
Asuka froze… she felt something nearby… a supernatural pallor held thick in the air, though how she knew it was supernatural she didn't know. Perhaps having supernatural power herself put her in tune with such things. She followed her sense though the trees as it led down a short hill.
Asuka stopped at the base of the hill as the land still angled down but flattened out. A cave was staring back at her, and she knew without a doubt that this was the source of the energy. The entrance was covered in hanging roots and vines but most of it could be seen. There appeared to be a pale light flickering inside like a torch or candle flame.
"I have to warn Shinji," Asuka whispered, thinking the cult had taken residence her but then she stopped and thought about that. The chances that the cult had arrived here were pretty remote, and if this was indeed dangerous, she wouldn't have time to get help from Shinji. She swallowed as she realized she would probably have to do this herself.
Steeling herself, she entered the cave without further delay. Inside was a path leading downward. Every 20 feet or so, there was a primitive looking brazier that looked rather old and well used. Supernatural energy seemed to drift from the fires. This told her that there was likely no one down here who lit them, and that they have been burning for a very long time since they were wrought from magic.
Magic… She imagined that a few days ago, when she had her memory, she likely would have scoffed at the notion that such things were possible. Now here she was, exploring a supernatural cave beneath a forest that was likely rebuilt using the same energies. Fate truly was whimsical.
As she descended further she saw what appeared to be a drop off. Seeing that the nearest ledge was close enough, she jumped across to it. Then she looked down and noticed the next one was about 10 feet below her. Thinking she should be able to climb back up, she carefully jumped down, noticing she felt lighter on her feet than she would have expected.
Suddenly a flame flew at her from the darkness, a ball of fire aimed right at her. In surprise she jumped up, and then floundered as she realized she jumped high enough to easily clear the ledge she just left a moment ago. Getting her bearings she landed on it but almost fell over.
"Ok… that was new," she whispered. Asuka looked down; a flame off in the direction the fireball came from got her attention. What she saw was not encouraging; the thing looked like a shortened column composed of 2 dragon-like skulls. One was facing away but the other was still facing where she was standing. Realizing it was some kind of sentry and couldn't move she prepared herself and dropped down again, this time able to see the assailant.
The skull fired another ball of flame at her. Instinctively she waved a hand forward causing a shield to appear in midair between her and the incoming projectile. The action of doing so caused the back of her shirt to blow outwards revealing her glyphs. Her left shoulder now had a shield shaped symbol on the glyph that was glowing, and her right had a dagger symbol visible. After the shot was blocked the shield faded and she threw several daggers in quick succession at the sentry, noting the bottom skull was turning to face her as well. The daggers stuck in and quickly shattered the sentry.
"I think I might be getting better at this," she said to herself.
Now with a dagger in each hand she continued dropping down until she reached the bottom which opened into a new path. Ahead of her was a long corridor that looked as if it was carved from the rocks rather than being improvised like most of what she'd seen so far.
"I seem to be getting somewhere," Asuka noted. Cautiously she began to walk forward before watching the ground seem to crack in places ahead of her. Holding her daggers at the ready, she prepared for whatever might be coming next.
Zombies pulled themselves out of the ground and immediately began to shamble forward. Rotting human corpses with equally rotted tatters for clothing arose one by one, quickly filling the corridor. There were man of them, Asuka counted easily close to 50. Switching immediately to swords she began to run forward without fear, dodging their pathetic attempts to attack her as she flipped over or rolled under the assailants and slashed down whatever she had to. She was surprised at how easily they were falling to her blades, noting that unlike what modern zombie lore would tell her, any attack that would be fatal to the living seemed to be just as effective against these walking dead.
Once out of the corridor she beheld another upwards passage with a wooden chest at the bottom under a platform. Looking up she could see the platforms formed something like a disjointed spiral stair as they circled the cylindrical passage but were not connected. She wondered just how far underground she was as the top seemed to be nearly 200 feet above her.
Curiously she approached the chest and opened it carefully, finding a charm inside that appeared to be a dodecahedral stone with a tiny wing made of platinum attached to it. As she picked it up, a thin silver chain hung from it as if magically forming. Without hesitation she put it on feeling a surge of energy for a moment as the relic attuned itself to her and imparted knowledge of its power.
"Oh, this will be fun," Asuka whispered as she crouched down and leapt into the air nearly 15 feet. At the height she saw the next ledge a mere 12 feet above her and activated the effects of the stone. A glyphic circle of force appeared below her for a split second allowing her to quickly leap from it as well and reach the ledge. She looked down realizing she cleared nearly 30 feet easily. She looked up and repeated the feat again and again until she finally managed to reach the top level where a strange stone door blocked her path.
"What is this?" she whispered as she stepped forward. The door seemed to shimmer with energy and she reached out to it without fear. As her hand touched it, she felt the energy dissipate and the stone door rose up into the top of the doorjamb, revealing a large room. She stepped inside and immediately the door came down and slammed shut behind her. She spun trying to open the door again only for the door to remain sealed.
"Damn it! It is a trap!"
A screeching sound got her attention and she spun around drawing both glyphic swords. What she saw looked like a gargoyle of some kind. A pair of short horns slid back from its head. It had wings instead of arms and a pointed snout lined with sharp triangular teeth. As he roared at her again, the air around its mouth shimmered as if exposed to intense heat.
"Wunderbar," she whispered sardonically.
Immediately he bombarded her position with a series of fireballs as he took flight. Asuka quickly rolled right switching to daggers and threw several in his direction, but the fire breathing demon was far too quick for such attacks to be effective. Asuka took note of her location, noting ledges standing on either side of the room. She leapt upon one and ran along it, outrunning a series of fireballs directed at her.
'I have to keep ahead of his attacks,' she strategized. The monster peeled off towards the other side of the room and Asuka wondered what he was playing at. Suddenly a spinning boomerang style axe flew past her, nearly taking her head off. In the process of her last-second dodge, she saw a walking suit of heavy armor catch the spinning projectile as it returned. Asuka having none of this, rushed at the suit and dodged the axe before flipping over the armor and slashing in such a way that she took its head off while she was inverted. As she landed she saw a glyph floating in midair that resembled a massive axe. It was bigger than she was.
"It was created using Glyphic magic as well?" she questioned. "I wonder if I could…"
On instinct, she reached back and raised her hair up exposing all of her glyphs. Concentrating on the glyph she watched as it appeared to stretch towards her as if caught in the gravity well of a black hole. Within seconds it pulled itself to her causing the axe shaped outlines within the circles on her back to fill in.
At that moment, the fire-breathing monster made its reappearance, flying towards her at break-neck speeds. Asuka turned towards it, accessing her newly acquired glyph and summoned a pair of axe-boomerangs into her hands. She leapt from the ledge, avoiding his fireballs and threw her axes at the height of the job. Both managed to graze the monster as it dived between them and Asuka finished her flip landing on the ground. As the monster swung back around she quickly spun catching the axes that managed to seek her and return to her. She back flipped as fireballs rained down on her position, then at the height of her jump activated the Leap Stone relic to further propel her flip just before throwing the axes again. One managed the catch the creature causing it to cry out in pain but the other missed again. Asuka ran hard forward under the creature and spun in time to reach back and catch her weapons. The monster was already almost upon her. Switching to Shield and Sword, she blocked the fireballs, riding the force of the hit as she was still in the air, and slashed as the creature tried to pass her, the sword biting deep.
The monster came crashing down 20 feet later. Asuka sighed in relief thinking it was over only to watch the creature get back to its feet, and watched its skin turn red.
"And now I believe I have made it unhappy with me," Asuka whispered. The monster unleashed a constant stream of fire at Asuka forcing her to duck behind her shield and hold it steady as it kept the pressure on. Even behind the shield she could feel the heat of it.
"I have to do something before I cook." She realized she couldn't see where the monster was, but knew generally where to aim her attack. Trusting luck, she switched back to her axe-boomerang and threw it behind her. She waited until the last second before flipping backwards over it allowing it to fly past her.
As Asuka landed, the axe found its mark, and the monster roared in pain. She noted the axe wasn't returning due to the fact that it was imbedded in the monster's left shoulder. Knowing she couldn't switch glyphs from her right hand without dismissing the axe, she switched her left hand over to axe and threw it, decapitating the monster and finally ending the battle. She shut down both glyphs causing the axes to fade, the noted a fiery glyph left in place of the monster.
"I can use glyphs that produce weapons," Asuka reasoned, "is it possible that elemental power is not outside of my purview?" She approached the glyph, exposing her back and attempting to absorb this one the way she absorbed the axe. Sure enough the glyph responded and fused with her. Unseen but felt, a pair of glyphic symbols appeared to fill in inside the circles at her shoulder blades that resembled flames.
Holding out a hand, she conjured forth a ball of fire in it, and smiled.
"I can expand my powers!" Asuka exclaimed. "That means I may soon be more than a match for the cult."
She paused. Why was she thinking about this again? The cult was no longer her problem anymore. And yet… she felt like she had to do something… She stared at the flames and got a vision from her past.
She felt the blood oozing down her stomach as she watched from her seated position on the floor. Her body was limp, barely even functional. She heard the congregation chanting the name of Vlad Dracul and noted a girl was tied to the altar.
The poor naked girl couldn't have been older than Asuka herself. She cried out in a mix of pain and terror as the dagger bit down into her chest and cleaved her opened like freshly gutted game. Blood poured form the altar and filled the vessels connected to it. The priest held the bloody knife aloft and called for another sacrifice. Asuka watched in mute horror as the girl that was just killed was simply released and pushed from the altar. Her dark shoulder length hair now soaking with her own blood as her disrespected body joined the others on the pile.
"All this is for you," she heard a voice say…
Snapping back to reality, her jaw set on determination.
"No… I will not stand by idly while this keeps happening. I will end this cult with my own hands." She knew Shinji would not approve but she knew it was something she had to do…
An hour later Asuka finally reached the house once again.
"Asuka!" Shinji called out from the porch. "There you are! I was worried sick!"
"Shinji-kun," she replied. "You will not believe the day I have had."
They both entered the house and Shinji noted the back of her shirt was blown opened and her glyphs were visible. He also noted that they seem to have changed somewhat, new symbols seemed fully formed now.
"What happened?"
Asuka sat down in the kitchen as Shinji brewed tea for them. She explained her adventure in the cave and showed the relic she found. Going into great detail, she explained her battle with the fire demon.
"Occult texts call that sort of monster, a Gaibon," Shinji noted. "I can't believe you actually managed to defeat something like that."
"I am more powerful than I realized, Shinji-kun," she explained. "And now that I know my powers can be expanded, I need to learn how to control them."
"Asuka," Shinji whispered.
"I have to face the cult," she said before he could continue.
"No, you don't," Shinji replied. "It is not our problem anymore."
"NERV cannot handle this!" Asuka replied emphatically, showing far more emotion than she had previously.
"And you can?" he challenged.
"Maybe not yet, but if I can master my gifts…" Shinji stood up walking towards the window. "Listen to me! There is no one else!"
"Asuka, just let Misato and the rest handle this."
"No," she said emphatically. "They cannot stop what is coming. The sacrifices are continuing."
"How can you-"
"I watched it happen," she interrupted. "When I received the Ignis Glyph from Gaibon, I received another thread from my mind. During the rituals they tortured me in, they were sacrificing innocents. The rituals are still going on, I can feel it."
Shinji went silent, as if thinking about something. For nearly a full 15 seconds, which felt like an eternity, he stayed silent before he finally spoke.
"Alright," Shinji finally relented. "I'll send word of the cult activities to Maya and Misato."
"But I-"
"You need to master your skills," Shinji interrupted. "And I know someone who can help you do that." He faced her. "Her name is Selina Sumara; she lives in a remote and rather primitive village in central Hokkaido. Selina is one of our primary sources of information when it comes to the occult. She's an expert in all forms of written magic. If anyone can help you with your unique powers, it's her."
"Thank you," Asuka whispered.
"Don't thank me yet," Shinji replied. "She's bound to be a pretty rough trainer. She has little patience for people in general."
"When can we go?"
"Tommorrow morning, we'll leave for Hokkaido." He paused. "I hope you know what you're doing."
Asuka sighed, feeling nervousness filter into her again. "So do I, Shinji-kun… so do I."
Asuka cried out as another red hot stiletto was pushed into her stomach. How was she not dead yet? The pain was absolutely unbearable. She heard the chanting continue from the congregation here and wondered how much more of this madness she could endure.
Time seemed to skip, she was on her back now. She could still feel the blood oozing from the 10 wounds she received during the first half of the ritual. Her body exposed but she felt hot rather than cold. She turned her head, which was all she could do as she felt the chains on her wrists and ankles holding her spread eagle against the altar.
She beheld only the shape of a man sitting Indian-style in midair. A massive glyph of power surrounded him and two orbs of energy, both gold and glowing, silently circled around the border of the glyph counter-clockwise. These moved along with an almost scythe-like blade that covered nearly half the circle. He had to be the one leading this group as his power was obviously quite immense.
"She is perfect," she heard the floating man say. "Begin the inscription. She shall bare the marks of the master."
Another man came into her view, also bald but this one she could see clearly. His eyes glowed beneath his monk's hood as he held an implement that was at once a blade and a pen, with its tip white hot.
"Dominus dicit sacrificium…" he said aloud as he prepared to scribe the first symbol…
With a silent cry she gasped herself awake. Her sheets were soaking wet around her, just as bad as the other night. Wordlessly she got up and moved silently to her bathroom, as he tried to calm her breathing. Unlike the apartment, there was a separate bathroom for her here so she wouldn't disturb Shinji.
Turning on the light, she splashed herself with cool water and tried desperately to calm herself down. Her eyes opened beholding her haggard appearance in the mirror. She realized immediately that she still didn't truly recognize herself.
"My mind is only allowing me to remember the bad things," Asuka whispered. "I wish I could start getting some good memories." She was starting to think her entire life was one tragedy after another, and that the current events were but a mere shadow of what came before them. She hopped to God she was wrong…
But you told me to love you and I did,
Traded my emotions for a contract to commit
And when I got away I only got so far,
The other me is dead,
I hear his voice inside my head
"I have heard of backwater but this place is pretty out there. Still it is nice to find someone that can help me. I do not understand why Shinji was so negative about Selina; she seems perfectly okay to me. In fact, she is like a mother to me… but I cannot believe I have to fight my way to a training ground!"
Next Chapter: The Teacher
Omake
Asuka looked towards him. "The uniforms of the cultists that attacked us… they look familiar?"
"Based on what I've been able to piece together," Shinji explained, "and their appearance, I believe these cultists might be part of a group called 'The Sons of Shaft'."
"They sound like some bad mother-"
"Shut your mouth!" Shinji interrupted.
"I was just talking about the Sons of Shaft."
Admit it… you were thinking it…
